Vertical profiles of the 3-D wind velocity retrieved from multiple wind lidars performing triple range-height-indicator scans

摘要

Vertical profiles of 3-D wind velocity are retrieved from triplerange-height-indicator (RHI) scans performed with multiple simultaneousscanning Doppler wind lidars. This test is part of the eXperimental Planetaryboundary layer Instrumentation Assessment (XPIA) campaign carried out at theBoulder Atmospheric Observatory. The three wind velocity components areretrieved and then compared with the data acquired through various profilingwind lidars and high-frequency wind data obtained from sonic anemometersinstalled on a 300 m meteorological tower. The results show that themagnitude of the horizontal wind velocity and the wind direction obtainedfrom the triple RHI scans are generally retrieved with good accuracy.However, poor accuracy is obtained for the evaluation of the verticalvelocity, which is mainly due to its typically smaller magnitude and to theerror propagation connected with the data retrieval procedure and accuracy inthe experimental setup.